Merry Christmas!!!

Happy Holidays to all my friends and family in bloggy land!  I did not fall off the face of the earth, just been tending to our health issues, which are coming along pretty well, I just finished up my physical therapy and Mark is still going.  He ended up having a broken elbow after the fall, unfortunately they found it later and it had started to heal already.  We have been through alot these past few months, years, etc. but we are not going to complain, we are blessed in so many ways, especially to have each other, there is no one I would rather have by my side than him.  My leg is healing, it has been a long haul.  We are taking a break from the construction for a while so we can heal ( and save money for the rest).  But we are in our new bedroom, and the house is decorated for the holidays and it feels so cozy and warm here.  I promise to post some photos soon, the house has changed so much!  Even in a wheelchair I was cleaning the new additions, trying to get it done sooner!  We also just added a puppy to our lives, he is just precious and I never thought I would be so in love with a dog!!  He is a little Yorkie named Asher!  I never got my Christmas cards out this year, I have just not had the time or energy to do them. I did take these photos in the fall, balancing on one leg so I figured I had better share them, who knows maybe a New Years letter will get sent out, I can't promise anything!  Anyhow, I am off to get ready for the holiday celebration at my mom's house, it is certainly different being "home" for the holidays permanently.  No packing, driving, stopping to go potty, etc... it is nice!   I pray you all have a special holiday season with your loved ones,  we have so many wonderful things to look forward to in the new year, weddings, weddings and more weddings! Thanks so much for all of your kind words and prayers, the time I was laid up seemed to go pretty quickly thankfully, I still have a long way to go but I am taking it day to day, I will never take the ability to walk for granted again! 
Blessings my friends!!!  Love, Leslie

Broken and Beautiful

The broken....
I had to think of a catchy title for this one.  So I stole a title from one of my favorite artists  and people Mark Schultz.  I apologize for my lack of blogging, it has been a crazy summer, one full of construction and doctor visits.  Between my mom and my son Dayton we kept the ER busy.  And then last week I did a doozie on my own leg.  My hubby and I were taking things down from the attic in the garage for my mil and he decided to use a step ladder instead of the pull down attic ladder.  I had just got the words out of my mouth "this is not a good idea...." and next thing I know hubby is hanging on for dear life to the rafters, 12 feet above me, the ladder twisted and came out from beneath him.   He fell on top of me and I broke my ankle/leg in 3 places, and ambulance ride and ER visit soon followed and I had surgery the next day to repair the breaks.  I have a plate and 9 screws in one side of my leg and a few screws in the other side.  Bummer.  The worst part is that I cannot put any pressure on it for 6-8 weeks, I am already going stir crazy. I am so thankful that I was there, it could have been so tragic for my husband.  My new best friends are, a walker, a wheelchair, crutches and now a roll a bout.  I had the stitches taken out this week and a boot put on my leg.  The Dr. seemed pleased with my progress so that was good but I am really struggling with the day to day life.  My hubs hurt his elbow in all of this and needs an MRI  next week.  I need his help for almost everything so we are quite the pair. It is amazing how a freak accident can change your life in an instant.  I am using the handicapped bathrooms and realizing how difficult it is to maneuver. Believe me this experience has not been lost on me, I will never use the handicapped bathroom again, I have had to wait several times for people to finish their business while the other stalls are empty, opening doors is just about impossible, I pray that someone is in the restroom to help me get out.  Hubs has had to join me in the ladies room a few times, a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do right!!!?  And I cannot wait to drive, having my 16 year old drive for me is nerve-wracking!!! Everyone has been so helpful though, from meals to visits, to sharing of equipment to make my life easier , I am so blessed and so thankful that I am living near our family and friends again.  I did this last year with Dayton by myself and it was not easy, so I appreciate all of the extra hands.  People keep calling me a hero and saying that I saved hubby's life, I don't know about all of that, what I do know is that he is worth it. 
The house is  coming along, we finally have the structures up for our addition and my mil's hopefully drywall will be next, I am itching to get it done, so much to do and I am laid up.  I am going to take this time to get do things I never take the time to do, like reading my books, getting caught up on my photos, get a website and logo made for my business  ( in the works), write thank you notes, watch Pioneer Woman on the Food Network, get caught up with  blogging again,  do some Christmas shopping online so that it is done early!, learn to knit, get organized, take care of myself, send out we have moved notes ( 7 months late!), play with my new camera and lenses, all the things that I never sit down and  accomplish.  I am so behind... in so many ways. 

The Beautiful.......

This is the view when you first walk in to Robin's beautiful home.  Love the warm woods, the beams, the color on her walls, and  the gorgeous woodwork. Loved it all!!!

 The kitchen was amazing, I loved every detail!!!

 The view from the kitchen into the family room.

 I loved the windows in the dining room!

  A screened in porch off the back.

The view of their pond.

So I decided today to give you a little treat. The Beautiful part of this post.  A few weeks ago I visited the gorgeous home of one of my adoption buddies Robin.  We traveled to China together 5 years ago to bring home our little girls.  Robin is the sweetest person I know, sugar sweet.  Robin and her husband Greg have recently purchased an older home on some acreage and spent the past year renovating it.  Robin has such a way of making a house a home,  I fell in love with it the moment I stepped inside. She so graciously allowed me to take some photos, I know you will love it as much as I did!!!  Enjoy the tour of Robin's Nest!

 She has inspired me to take on some trim projects!!

 She found an old dresser that she turned into a sink, I have always wanted to do this!

 I have totally stole this idea from her and hope to have a little office like this of my own soon!

She has a full lower level in her home

Another gorgeous window in the master bedroom.

Beautiful tile in her master bath!

Great idea!  She said most of her knobs came from Hobby Lobby!

Ellie has her own little play area underneath the staircase.

 Perfection!!!!

 Gorgeous subway tile!

 Oh my heart,  I love old windows!

 I was having some major laundry room envy!

The glorious kitchen, loved her choice of cabinets, dark granite, green island, industrial stools a mix with a spalsh of vintage here and there, perfect in my eyes!

 I loved this old laundry (?) cart filled with blossoms, what a cute idea!

 I never dreamed that by adopting a little girl that I would gain such wonderful friends at the same time!  Sheri and Robin are the dearest friends, as I was posting this, I received the sweetest package from them, filled with things they knew I would love! 

Our little China girls, Ellie, Myah and Sarah

41 Candles!!!

I am one year older today.  As I look back on the past year I am overwhelmed with all of the changes and events that took place.  I am praying that my 41st year will be full of happiness, stress-free( hey a girl can wish right!)  and healthy.  I am off to celebrate!!!

Seeing Red

Boy oh boy, I am a slacker blogger!  Sorry folks, just a lot of livin' goin' on these days!! We have been working very hard around here now that the weather is nice, a few days last week were near 100 degrees so we decided to spend those days on the water....just too hot to do anything else!  We are in the process of finishing up our bathroom remodel, we ended up having a leak and needed to gut it to find the problem.  I am happy with it though!  I will post photos when it is finished,  my hubby needs to finish the trim but is laid up again with his back.  Poor guy!!!

 This is the coolest bathroom in the cafe, not ours!!

 Love the white marble with the dark wood floors and contemporary light fixtures

 This super cool piece of art is three dimensional

 I love how they mix the antique pieces with the modern, I think, I am becoming more of a modern woman in my older years. ha ha! I love the simplicity of it.

 See the pop of red I was talking about!!

 Industrial mixed with modern, still lovin' the pop of red with all the white and dark floors.

 They have the best bread!!! I loves me some good bread, I actually have taken it home in a doggy bag!!

 (below) these are the PB pillows that I picked up at the outlet for my family room club chairs ( in red of course!)

Anyhow,we have been in this house for 6 months now and have kept my beachy theme going strong.  I have been craving a bit of color in the house but didn 't want to make a huge committment in case I get sick of it, (which happens).  I found my inspiration in the cutest little cafe in a local hotel.  We went there the first time on Valentine's Day and fell in love with the decor, a little bit vintage, a little bit French, a bit modern, clean and white, yet warm and inviting.  I think the punch of red that is carried throughout the cafe caught my eye.  After our new wood floors were in I realized that I could easily add some red too, not a ruby red but a tomatoey red, not really bright.  After a trip to the PB Outlet I snagged a couple of red pillows and a few bunches of red apples ( I am not usually a fan of fake fruit but I like these so I broke my own rule).  I don't have any photos of the room just yet but I thought you would like to see my inspiration.  I am hoping to go there this weekend for my birthday!  Hint hint!!! I did not take any of these photos, I found them on the web.